Power Outage Hits Calif. Air Traffic Control

AP Online On Apr 20, 2006
Source: via NewsEdge Corporation

SAN DIEGO_An air traffic control center for Southern California airports lost power Wednesday but a backup generating system kicked in and no airplanes were affected, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The power went off shortly before 10 a.m. at the Terminal Radar Approach Control center, or TRACON, in San Diego that tracks air traffic around most Southern California airports, said Allen Kenitzer, an FAA spokesman.

"There was no impact to our operations at all," he said.

San Diego Gas & Electric reported there was a problem with an underground cable that caused an outage to some industrial customers including the FAA facility. The utility said power to the TRACON was restored in about five minutes.

However, the FAA facility remained on backup power more than an hour after the outage hit.